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The direct raya of the sun touch the equator and strike northward toward
the Tropic of Cancer. In the Southern hemisphere winter has begun, and it is
summer north of the equator. The sea and air grow warmer; the polar air of
winter begins its gradual retreat.
The northward shift of the sun also brings the season of tropical cyclones
to the northern hemisphere, a season that is ending for the Pacific and India
Oceans south of the equator. Along our coasts and those of Asia. it is time to
look seaward. to guard against the season's storms. Over the Pacific, the
tropical cyclone season is never quite over. but varies in intensity. Every
year. conditions east of the Philippines send a score of violent storms howling
toward Asia, but it is worst from June through October. Southwest of Mexico. a
few Pacific hurricanes will grow during spring and summer. but most will die at
sea or perish over the desert or the lower California coast as squalls.
Along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts. the hurricane season is from June to
November. In an average year, there are fewer than ten tropical cyclones and six
of them will develop into hurricanes. These will kill 50 to 100 persons between
Texas and Maine and cause property damage of more than $100 million. If the year
is worse than average, we will suffer several hundred deaths,and property damage
will run to billions of dollars.
Tornadoes, floods, and severe storms are in season elsewhere on the
continent. Now, to these destructive forces must be added the hazard of the
hurricane. From the National Hurricane Center in Miami. a radar fence reaches
westward to Texas and northward to New England. It provides a 200-mile look into
offshore disturbances. In Maryland. che giant computers of the National
Meteorological Center digest the myriad bits of data-atmospheric pressure,
temperature, humidity, surface winds. and winds aloft-received from weather
stations and ships monitoring the atmospheric setting each hour, every day.
Cloud photographs from spacecraft orbiting the earth are received in Maryland
and are studied for che telltale spiral on the warming sea. The crew of United
States aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic watch the sky
and wait for the storm that will bear a person's name. The machinery of early
warning vibrates with new urgency as the season of great storms begins.
1.The cyclone season of the Southern hemisphere__________________.
A) is brought by the polar air of winter
B) ends when winter comes to the Southern hemisphere
C) virtually lasts throughout the year
D) begins when the sun rays strike the Tropic of Cancer
2.What is true about the storms howling towards Asia?
A) They originate over the Pacific.
B) They influence Southeast Asia most violently.
C) They mainly grow during spring and summer.
D) They usually perish off coast.
3.When the Pacific hurricanes reach the lower California. most of them
will_____________.
A) reduce their intensity
B) increase their intensity
C) cause much property damage
D) result in great rain and floods
4.What can we leam about the National Hurricane Center in Miami?
A) It mainly provides protection against hurricanes to Texas and New
England.
B) It warns the whole country against tornadoes, severe storms and
hurricanes.
C) It consists of radars along the coast of the west and the north of
U.S.
D) It supervises the coastal areas stretching from Texas to New
England.
5.The passage discusses most clearly about_______________.
A) the factors that cause hurricanes
B) the most risky areas that suffer hurricanes
C) the early warning system against hurricanes
D) the remedies for property damage by hurricanes
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发表于 2016-12-4 13:30:22